The futures traded higher on Thursday, after the technology giants took the lead again after posting impressive results. While met with some initial selling, both Alphabet and Microsoft regained their footing and took off with both closing up near 5%, leading the Nasdaq slightly higher, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrials closed down. The big news is the return of the buyers to the Treasury space. Both the 10-year and the 30-years bonds saw their yields drop to some of the lowest levels in over a month.
Despite the continued market strength, especially for technology, top strategists across Wall Street remain focused on continued rising interest rates, the quantitative easing tapering due to begin next month, big increases in energy costs, ongoing supply chain issues and stagflation worries. Toss in the debt ceiling issue (which is on hold for now but will return in December) and the ongoing China worries, and the cauldron continues to simmer.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Thursday, October 28, 2021.
Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN): Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating and has an $810 price target. The consensus target is just $739.58, and Wednesday’s final trade was at $604.39 per share. The stock was up a stunning 8% in Thursday’s premarket, after the company posted stellar results for the quarter.
Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE: CAR): BofA Securities downgraded shares of the rental car leader to Neutral from Buy but raised the $125 target price to $200. The $111.17 consensus target is well below Wednesday’s closing price of $165.99 a share.
BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BJ): While BofA Securities downgraded the popular retailer to Neutral from Buy, it also lifted the target price to $66 from $60. The consensus target is $58.78. The stock closed on Wednesday at $59.12.
Dynatrace Inc. (NYSE: DT): Goldman Sachs raised the $75 price target to $86 while keeping a Buy rating on the stock. The consensus target is $75.60. The shares closed Wednesday at $70.03 after pulling back almost 10% for the day.
Enjoy Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ENJY): Baird started coverage with a Neutral rating and an $11 price target. The consensus target is $13.33. The last trade Wednesday was reported at $10.65.
Evercore Inc. (NYSE: EVR): Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating and lifted the target price by almost 10%, from $161 to $176. The consensus target is $164.50. The shares closed Wednesday at $150.41.
Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES): Mizuho’s upgrade to Neutral from Underperform included a target price hike from $82 to $87. The consensus target is up at $90.61. The stock closed on Wednesday at $85.58.
InflaRx N.V. (NASDAQ: IFRX): Raymond James upgraded it to Strong Buy from Outperform and raised the $10 price objective to $14. The consensus price target is just $9.08. The stock closed at $2.86 on Wednesday.
Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE: MLM): Wolfe Research started coverage with a Peer Perform rating and a $432 price target. The consensus target is lower at $393.26. The final trade for Wednesday was reported at $383.20.
Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI): Northcoast downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $156.30 and $251.45 a share, and it has a $257 consensus price target. The shares were last seen Wednesday at $250.05.
Norfolk Southern Inc. (NYSE: NSC): BofA Securities raised its Neutral rating on the railroad giant to Buy and lifted the target price to $325 from $263. The consensus target is $285.09, but the shares were last seen on Wednesday at $287.06.
Paccar Inc. (NASDAQ: PCAR): Credit Suisse’s upgrade to Outperform from Neutral came with a target price hike to $106 from $89. The posted consensus target is $94.88. The stock closed on Wednesday at $85.77.
Phillips 66 Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: PSXP): Credit Suisse downgraded the refiner from Outperform to Neutral with a $41 price target. The consensus target is $39.75. The last trade for Wednesday was reported at $39.31.
Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM): This company has expanded through some rather large acquisitions in the last several years to help it diversify as it competes for dominance in the ever-growing cloud software market, says Zacks, which selected it as the Bull of the Day stock. Shares last closed at $295.15 and have a consensus price target of $314.64, which would be a 52-week high.
Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW): BofA Securities downgraded the paint leader to Neutral from Buy and has a $335 price target. The consensus target is $328.35. The stock closed on Wednesday at $317.38.
Summit Materials Inc. (NYSE: SUM): Wolfe Research started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $45 price target. The consensus target is $38.85. The final trade on Wednesday came in at $34.74.
Teradyne Inc. (NYSE: TER): Cowen upgraded the shares to Outperform from Market Perform and also lifted the target price to $150 from $135. The consensus target is $148.345. The stock closed Wednesday at $123.07, and it was up over 3% in the premarket.
Terminix Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: TMX): As Baird downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform, it slashed the price target from $57 to $44. The consensus target is $55.13. The final trade for Wednesday was reported at $39.89, which was down almost 3% on the day.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA): Raymond James downgraded the generic drug giant to Market Perform from Outperform. Over the past 52 weeks, shares have traded between $8.24 and $13.30, and they and have an $11.29 consensus price objective. That last trade Wednesday hit the tape at $8.93, which was down almost 5% for the day.
Just six stocks make up a quarter of the market capitalization of the S&P 500, and it may behoove investors to double-check portfolios to make sure they are not overexposed. After all, the giants of yesteryear, like Eastman Kodak, are no longer around.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest continues to boost its stake in Robinhood.
Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Abbott Laboratories, Alphabet, Cloudflare, DraftKings, FuboTV, Microsoft and UPS. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Microsoft, Robinhood, Twitter and more.
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